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Fig jam with cardamom

Author Notes:I woke up with a hankering for toast and jam, and lucky me, I had just made a lovely semolina boule. But travesty struck, as it does so often in innocent households: I found that I was sans les confitures.

I could have been devastated, because you know, a jamless house can render a poor soul to that lot. But I circumvented such despair in view of an awaiting pound of perfectly ripe figs. —fo

Serves: lots of slices of toast

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh, ripe figs

1/4 cup + 1 TB red wine

1/2 cup water

2 TB + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 strip of zest from the lemon

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 TB + 1 tsp organic turbinado sugar

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 stick of cinnamon

A couple of rasps of nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

In This Recipe

Directions

Slice the lids off of the figs.

Add them along with the rest of the ingredients to an awaiting pot, reserving 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Let this cook for 45 minutes over a very low flame, or until it's thick and jammy, stirring frequently to keep it from scorching. Sprinkle some water into the pot if it looks like it's about to scorch, or if it's cooking too quickly and the figs have not broken down yet.

When the jam has adequately thickened, add the last 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 tsp of lemon juice, remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit before transferring to small Mason jars fitted with lids. Store in the refrigerator.